You're about to learn three advanced strategies that will make you a lot more money at Pot Limit Omaha.
These strategies are particularly valuable because most PLO pros miss them. If you implement them correctly, you'll pick up an edge versus even the best players in your games.
Leading on the flop as the small blind after calling preflop. Adjusting your c-bet frequency versus opponents who do and don't have a leading range. Betting pot (or all-in) on brick turns after 3-betting preflop and check-calling on the flop.If you're a player who never leads into the aggressor from the previous street, these strategies will be a game-changer for you.
Let's get right to it.
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1. Leading on the flop as the small blind after calling preflop
If you have a No Limit Hold'em background, you're likely used to checking to the preflop aggressor with your entire range when out of position. Leading into the preflop aggressor (aka donk-betting) just isn't a good strategy in No Limit Hold'em, generally speaking.
In Pot Limit Omaha, however, there are a number of boards on which leading is a winning play. Unlike in No Limit Hold'em, you will sometimes have a range advantage in PLO as the preflop caller, and you can seize on that advantage by leading.
You should have a leading range on high card centric flops, especially those that do not contain an ace.
For example, suppose the player on the button raises, you call in the small blind, and the big blind calls as well. Here are a four specific flops on which you should have a leading range:
J-J-8 rainbow K-K-4 with a flush draw K-Q-7 rainbow Q-T-5 rainbowAs the small blind, Monker Solver (the best PLO solver) leads with around two thirds of its range on each of these flops. That's a ton of leading!
Wondering about bet sizing? You should lead a bit larger (around 40% pot) on the unpaired boards, and a bit smaller (around 20% pot) on the paired boards, due to our opponents having a wider natural continuing range on the unpaired boards.
2. Adjusting your c-bet frequency versus opponents who don't have a leading range
If you're playing against an opponent who never leads into the preflop aggressor, you should tone down your c-betting frequency. This is because a player who never leads will have a stronger checking range than a player who does lead.
For example, imagine you raise on the button and your opponent in the small blind calls. The flop comes K♦ T♥ 7♠. Let's compare how Monker Solver plays this spot versus a player who leads with some hands compared to a player who never leads:
Versus a check by a player who does have a leading range, the solver c-bets at a 35.4% frequency. Versus a check by a player who never leads, the solver c-bets at a 15.6% frequency.That's less than half as much c-betting versus the player who never leads!
This makes a lot of sense, because the latter player will have many more strong hands with which to call or check-raise versus your c-bet. You're better off checking back and taking a free card with the vast majority of your range versus such a player.
Of course, you won't always know for sure whether or not your opponent has a leading range, but you should be able to get a decent idea after playing with someone for a while. Once you realize a player seems to never lead, start c-betting less often to avoid gifting money to their stronger-than-otherwise checking range.
3. Betting pot (or all-in) on brick turns after 3-betting preflop and check-calling on the flop
A "brick" is a card that doesn't change the board texture.
Suppose you 3-bet as the big blind versus a player who raised on the button.
Your opponent calls and the flop comes 9♠ 7♠ 3♥.
After you check (as you should with around half of your range, according to Monker Solver), your opponent puts in a half pot-sized bet, which you call.
The turn is the brickiest of bricks: the 2♦.
Surprisingly, you should actually lead out for a full pot-sized bet with around half of your remaining range (according to Monker Solver). I'll let Chris explain why:
The deuce [of diamonds] interacts so poorly with the button's range that we're often better off just [potting it with] a lot of [our range] rather than checking and giving the button an opportunity to check behind.
[Note] that we never use a small or a medium bet size here because, on a texture like this, denying equity is so important that we're either checking or [betting big].
Hands with which you should lead for pot include high flush draws, combo draws, and overpairs (though some other hand classes get mixed in by Monker Solver as well).
Final Thoughts
Those were three PLO strategies that most pros miss. They might seem a little abstract, but that's fine -- that's right where you should be assuming you haven't worked extensively with PLO solvers in the past.
One of the benefits of continual exposure to solver work is becoming aware of strategies like this -- strategies that are theoretically good, but would be nearly impossible to discover without the aid of a solver.
I'll leave you with one more quote from Chris about using these strategies at the table:
It's our job to take these strategies to the next step by thinking about the circumstances that Monker Solver is operating under when its implementing these strategies...
...and comparing those circumstances to the parameters [of our] everyday games.
And that's really what the Advanced PLO Mastery course does. It takes a lot of these outputs, [like the ones] demonstrated in this video that are showing what Monker Solver is doing...
...and explains to you why Monker Solver is doing it so that you know when you should apply them and when maybe you shouldn't apply them in your own games.
These examples are just the tip of the iceberg. Monker Solver does tons of abstract things like this that we're probably not thinking about. That's what the course is really about.
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